Blue review: undeclared flower seedlings show true colors

My plan was to strike a certain color balance in the garden this year. Blue was to be dominant, followed by yellow, then pops of red-orange and pale greens.

After buying numerous seeds, and supplementing those with online plant orders, I became a little concerned that I might wind up with blue overload. Well, leave it to happenstance to alter the landscape…

Some of the blue seeds that I planted in the peat pellets never sprouted, and I had a couple that sprouted, but later the seedlings dried up. Suddenly, I was facing the prospect of possibly having much less blue than I’d wanted.

Then, after the unusually cold spring and early summer — not to mention my unique challenges in getting plants outside — a rainy spell washed away the labels on my sprouted seedlings, so I was unsure of just what actually remained.

I went on a mad internet search trying to find closeups of the leaves of the seeds I’d planted in hopes of identifying the seedlings by the leaves, since they hadn’t yet flowered. I made my best guesstimates and put the seedlings into the container arrangements hoping that when they sprouted they would indeed be blue and bring the color balance close to what I’d envisioned.

Then I pretty much stopped thinking about them, resigning myself to the fact that they might never amount to anything. There were sufficient splashes of blue in the containers and enough blooming otherwise to distract me.

Yesterday, though, I suddenly noticed something new, and yes, it was something blue. The lovely wildflower Texas bluebonnet (pictured above) began to open in an explosion of color. And there is another cluster of the same leaves in another location in the planter.

Then, I realized that in two locations in another planter the ultra sky blue petunia was flowering (second photo)! And I’m sure those dainty, lacy looking leaves filling another corner of a planter are Nigella — with luck flowers will eventually prove me right.

So, hopes of achieving my original color balance — or at least something close to it — have been reignited. Now I just need to figure out what happened to my greens…

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Avis, wow the blue ones are showing! I am so excited for you. I remember you sowed those seeds earlier. I love the flower in the first picture. Looks like more flowers would be blooming from that peduncle. Btw, I read the feedbacks you have gotten for the sweet potato vine post. Looks like you have also encouraged more people to try the experiment. That’s great. Have a wonderful day!

Stephanie,
That first pic is the Texas bluebonnet. You’re right, people seem to be interested in the sweet potato project. Can’t wait to see an update of yours. btw, you are soooo knowledgeable girl! “Peduncle” will be my word of the day 😉

Who And Why

I'm Avis, an editor and writer who's returned to her Florida roots after years spent in Chicago. ........................................................
I grew up in Florida with a wide, grass-carpeted backyard. Still, I didn't become acquainted with the concept of "garden" or the quiet rapture found therein until several years ago. Inspired in part by the planters I'd seen attached to the wrought iron railings of apartments on the bustling city streets of Paris and in part by Chicago's magnificent median divides, I decided to try a few flower boxes on the balcony of my Chicago condo. My complete lack of knowledge was offset by the blessing of a southern exposure and, in that first season, the gift of consistent rain in the days after my plants were set out. I pressed my luck and threw a few seeds in a pot and was soon rewarded with what I gleefully dubbed "basil trees." I was hooked!
So now I'm back in Florida and I'll be trying my hand at cultivating an urban garden under the sweltering Zone 9 sun, remaining ever mindful of just how much rapture gardens cultivate in me. I hope you'll be in league with me on this new gardening journey! .........................................................

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